


Through the Years

by Lilzebub



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Pining, Romance, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-29
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:41:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23913232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lilzebub/pseuds/Lilzebub
Summary: Number Five and the reader experience friendship and love that spans across the years and timelines.
Relationships: Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)/Reader
Comments: 8
Kudos: 195





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic upload!!! WOO! 
> 
> This is 100% divergent from cannon, and was inspired by the Time Traveler’s Wife book by Audrey Niffenegger. My timelines may be a little funky in the story, but I try to keep things as clear as possible.
> 
> I do not own these characters!!

Setting her steaming mug gently on the table, she thumbed over a copy of her favorite book. “The Time Traveler’s Wife” emblazoned in large white letters across the front, the book was obviously well loved and well read. Her eyes flicked over to the calendar that hung on the wall: February 2nd 2019, circled in bright red marker. Today was one of the days, one of the final ones marked on her calendar. It was raining all day, but it would clear up by this afternoon, at least that’s what he had told her. She trusted this strange omniscience, the knowledge of things that would happen, the absolute certainty and resolve. She retrieved a second mug from the cabinet and poured a cup of rich, black coffee from the French press. He had told her she made the best coffee of anyone in any timeline, and she was inclined to believe that. Where he came from, coffee was a sparse and sought after resource. The ticking of the clock counted down the seconds, and she found herself syncing up her breathing. “Why am I so nervous?” she whispered out loud to no one in particular. A blue light flashed brightly on the opposite side of the room, and her breath hitched in her throat. The illuminated man composed himself, this time much older than she was used to.  
“Five?” She stepped forward, voice wavering.   
“February 2nd, 2019?” His face stern and weathered. Her head nodded in confirmation. Face softening, he strode towards her, wrapping her in a warm embrace.   
“Five, you’re filthy, is everything okay?”   
“Let me take a shower and I’ll fill you in.” He glided past her towards the bathroom, knowing precisely where he was going. She no longer felt hurt at the lack of affection when he first arrives, but had rather come to expect it. They had done this countless times in different locations: her parents’ home, her first apartment, once while she was on vacation. Five could seemingly always find his way to her, regardless of the time stamp. She sat quietly on the couch as the low hum of the shower started down the hall.

The first night he came in 2002 had been tumultuous. Her parents fought loudly in the living room, like they had done countless times since her sister had committed suicide. Those nights she found solace in lying on the roof of the house, staring at stars. The serenity was broken by a loud ‘pop’ from her bedroom. Wiping away her tears, she snuck back in through her window, to be greeted by the form of a boy around her age who appeared very shaken up. The girl began to scream, and the boy rushed over and placed a hand gently on her mouth.   
“Shhhhh. Please wait, listen. I need you to tell me the date.” He removed his hand, placing it on her shoulder.   
“It’s January 3rd 2002.” His mouth curved into a sly smile.   
“I’ll be damned, I DID IT.” Her eyes traced the emblem on the front of his neat sport jacket. “I came from two days in the past!”  
“You’re from the Umbrella Academy, aren’t you?”  
“Five Hargreeves, spatial jumper and now, officially, TIME TRAVELLER. Oh, father dearest is going to love this…”He paused, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry, I really don’t know why I showed up here of all places.” She reached out and shook his hand. “I’m (y/n),” she replied quietly, still attempting to mask the fact that she had been crying.  
Their friendship soon became a constant in her otherwise bleak life. He began visiting in the normal timeline, for the better part of a year. He would occasionally pop up in her room, asking what the date was: she could tell he was practicing for a bigger jump. One night, when they sat on the roof, she broke down.  
“I’m sorry I’m so boring. We sit up here nearly every night, I know this has to drive you crazy. You could be honing your time jumps, or literally doing anything else, than sitting up here with me. You’re extraordinary and I’m just…ordinary.” His hand brushed hers, so gently she thought she had imagined it.   
“Hey, you’re wrong. You’re definitely not ordinary. You’re like a beacon, or a lighthouse. If I ever get lost in the timeline, I think I’ll always be able to find you. That must be why I showed up here after the first jump!” He paused, staring at the sky. “You’re my best friend, (Y/n).” That night, he had left in another loud ‘pop’. At first light, she rolled over in her bed, noticing some items missing from her room. A picture frame that held a class photo, a necklace from her nightstand, small things that would seem mundane to an unknowing eye. Beside her head on the pillow, a letter was conspicuously placed.  
“(Y/n),  
Today I am going to attempt the furthest time jump that I’ve done yet. I know my father will protest, but I think I’m ready.   
If something happens, just know I’ll find you eventually. I promise.  
Yours,   
Five”

She was fourteen the first time he came back, popping up in the kitchen of her house. She marveled at how he was all at once the same, but was somehow different, perhaps a bit older. Once the shock subsided, she threw her silverware at him, unleashing her pent up anger. “You left me, Five. You left me,” she sobbed. He was unphased, standing with arms crossed.   
“Are you done?” he stared at her from the place she had collapsed in the floor. “You know the drill. Confirm date and time.” Five turned from her, rummaging around the cabinets.   
“August 15, 2004.” She hiccupped quietly, collecting herself off of the linoleum.   
“Do you know how to make coffee?” His facial expression didn’t change, but she could detect a hint of a smile in his eyes.   
Over a cup of French press coffee, he began telling her what he had been doing for the last two years. He had been recruited as a part of an organization that maintained appropriate timelines called the Commission. He dodged most of her questions, noting that his career was secretive. The question sat on the tip of her tongue, waiting for a lull in conversation.   
“In the future, do you see me?” He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, hands clasped around the mug.   
“I do.” He answered curtly. “I can’t speak to you though, it would alter the timeline. There are certain variables that have to be met…” he trailed off, a barely detectable sadness settled into his expression. “Otherwise, certain things won’t happen. The Commission says things have to happen exactly in the right order or it ruins the whole thing.” His jaw clenched. His mind goes to a particular fall day in 2014 that the Commission insisted on him traveling to, over and over again. A day in which he would love nothing more than to forsake the timeline and the Commission.  
“Like what?” cocking an eyebrow, her interest clearly piqued.  
“You’ll have to wait. Just give me a few years and I’ll have this all figured out. I’m not strong enough to jump too many times by myself. I’m only able to jump now because the Commission has given me the tools to do it with ease.” The coffee cup in front of his was empty. His arm outstretched across the kitchen table, and he grasped her hand. “Whenever I’m not on a job, I’ll come back as much as I can. I promise.”

She waited for four more unbearable years for her best friend to come back. She was on vacation in Mexico celebrating graduation, and a bright blue light illuminated her hotel room. As was the tradition, he requested the date first and foremost. She noted his height, he was several inches taller than her now, and he had the beginnings of unruly facial hair, and appeared to be in at least late 20s. His eyes remained the same. “Handsome” she thought outrageously to herself.   
He closed distance, placing his hands firmly on her shoulders. “(Y/n), the world ended. I have to fix this.” His eyes were blown out, panicked. “I came from year 2032.”   
“Well that explains the age gap. Five, you’ve got to slow down. Do you know where you are right now?” He looked around the room, then rushed to the open doors leading to a balcony, overlooking a calm, deserted beach. Whipping around rapidly, his eyes ran over her from the bottom up. His pupils dilated: she had grown into a beautiful young adult. He couldn’t have prepared himself for how she had gotten taller, her features slightly more pointed. “Oh my God, I missed your graduation, didn’t I?” He did his best to avert his gaze, she wore a baggy shirt and underwear, hair thrown in a messy bun. A flush crept over his cheeks.  
Nervously, she strode over to the balcony. “Five, you’ve been gone for a while…You missed everything.” There was no anger in her voice, just a hint of loneliness. She had rehearsed the moment he would return to her for years now, knowing exactly what she would say. “I can’t believe you’re here…”she paused, noting his somber expression.   
“It’s all going to be gone. The world ends and I have no idea how to stop it. Do you know how long I’ve been alone out there? There’s no one left…” he thought for a moment. “I didn’t think I would ever find you again after getting kicked out of the Commission. I practiced, and worked, and slaved just to be able to jump again, but I couldn’t. Then I thought of you. Just sat there, and thought about you, and I was here.”  
“Wait, you left the Commission? What are you talking about??”  
“Shit, I’m screwing up. I can’t talk about that anymore, otherwise I’m going to muck things up even worse.” Unexpectedly, he wrapped his arms around her, burying his scruff in her neck. Whispering, he murmured, “I don’t have much time. Any minute now I’m going to revert back to where I was. I just had to see. Just had to see….” He stopped himself, knowing if he poured his heart out, it would only make things harder. She didn’t know what he knew. In a quick sleight of hand, he slipped a piece of paper into her palm. He gently pushed back from her, the cool touch of metal brushing her chest. Around his neck, he wore the necklace that he had stolen off of her nightstand, accompanied by a thin gold band. Her eyes widened.   
“Five, is that my necklace? What’s that ring?” He placed his hands, clad in fingerless gloves, over her flushing cheeks.   
“I had to take it. I needed something to keep me grounded to guide me back. My lighthouse…” He began pulling her close once more, but just before the inevitable crashing of lips, a flash of blue light took him away from her again.   
It felt wrong. Five laid on a filthy mattress in the middle of a wasteland now circa 2032, knowing she was back in 2008, feeling miserable and devastated. He wanted to tell her what he did in 2014, just a few years before the apocalypse, but he knew it could alter everything.

(Y/n) moved into her first apartment while attending college in 2009. She had not seen him since he came to her on the balmy night in Mexico. Unfolding a small piece of paper he had slipped in her palm that night, she noted that one of the days, scrawled in what appeared to be blue crayon, was today. Attending her classes like normal, she had a creeping sense of anxiety at the unknown nature of the significance of the date. (Y/n) chose to skip her afternoon classes, and made her way back to her apartment. Immediately upon opening the door, the scent of black coffee hit her. A sense of panic washed over her: she definitely had not brewed any coffee that day. She felt for the light switch on the wall beside her, to be greeted to the sight of Five sitting comfortably on her couch, a briefcase positioned on the floor near his feet.   
“Christ, Five, what the hell? You couldn’t turn a light on? Why are you just sitting in the dark?” He stood from his seated position: clean cut, with a button up shirt rolled above his elbows and dark dress pants, easily younger than he had been in Mexico.   
“Sorry,” he smoothed his hair back with his hands. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” She stared at him quizzically, noting the dark circles under his eyes. There were unmistakable indicators that he had been crying.   
“Hey, are you alright?” Her feet were frozen just inside the threshold of the door. Seeing him in this state was completely new. Five had always been fairly level headed and logical: emotions weren’t necessarily his strong suit, nor were words. His eyes darted around the room, unable to meet her gaze. “What’s wrong?” He shook his head and rushed towards her, wrapping his arms firmly around her. His chin rested atop her head, and his breathing steadied.   
“I just….need you.” He pushed back slightly to look her in the eyes, his own wild with a flurry of emotions. Her mouth slightly ajar, he reached up and ran his thumb across her bottom lip, an inquiry. There were no words he could use to describe what was happening, he needed to show her. Tentatively, she leaned into him, placing a slow kiss onto his lips, the answer he had been searching for. As if the flood gates had opened, he swept her up against the wall, a flurry of hands and unsure lips.   
It was nearing midnight, and the two laid tangled together on the couch. No words had been spoken in hours, only the praises of two human beings occupying a rare moment in time. Her fingers pressed idly on his chest, she felt his heart rate increase. She knew that time was up, and instinctively pushed herself away from him, granting him access to leave.   
“I don’t want to go.” He whispered as he sat up, placing his head in his hands. “But if I don’t make it back before midnight the Commission…”  
“Will turn you into a pumpkin? Or worse?” He peered up at her and cringed.   
“They’ll send someone after me. Then it will probably be worse.” He dragged himself from the couch, collecting his clothes from the floor. “Sorry I didn’t have a whole lot to say tonight.” He looked at (Y/n) sympathetically, as she wrapped herself in a blanket.  
“Well, I think you said plenty,” she blushed as she marveled at him, noting that he was a bit leaner and built, apparent in the ease with which he lifted her from the floor just hours before. He leaned down and kissed her, fighting back tears, and began unlatching the case beside the couch. “You’re not angry that I have to leave?” she looked down at him, his somber expression breaking her heart. She knew that somehow this was hurting him more than it hurt her.   
“Of course not. You have a job to do. I know you’ll always come back to me”  
“Okay….I’ll see you soon, check the dates.” In a flash he was back at the Commission, back pressed to the wall. He wished he could have told her that his devastation was from watching her wedding, again, and how he wished that it was him instead: it would be selfish to ruin this for her. The knowledge that she could never be his made it even more painful. He wiped the tears from his eyes, and peeled himself from the floor. 

The shower had stopped running, bringing a thick silence to their sometimes shared home. Five walked out of her bathroom wrapped in a towel, and found his way to the couch, collapsing in an exhausted heap. (Y/n) brought him his coffee and sat down beside him.   
“So….” She started, unsure of what to say. There usually wasn’t a lull in conversation, but things had been mostly quiet for her, and she surmised, for him as well.   
“I’ve pinpointed the day when the world ends. All of my calculations appear to point at the same date. I just don’t know the why or the what.” He frowned, rubbing his freshly shaved cheek.   
“What year did you come from?” She stared down at the vortex she had created in her coffee.   
“Still 2032. I think I’ve managed to sync everything back up. We’re in the same timeline now, I’m just coming from…a little further ahead.” He frowned. Her hand reached out to clasp his slightly weathered hand, touch starved after months of waiting. “You changed your hair?” Taken aback by his change of subject, she recoiled, running her fingers through her hair.   
“Oh, yeah. I dyed it a couple of weeks ago.”  
“Fascinating…it suits you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it like this before.” He replaced her fingers with his own and she exhaled, reveling in his touch. “All these numbers and figures, and I never even think about how you might be different when I see you.”  
Eyes pressed firmly shut, “It’s all I ever think about. How someday, you’ll come back, and decide I’m not beautiful anymore. Or you think I’ve gained weight, or my hair isn’t quite right or…” Five cut her off, placing his finger over her lips.  
“You have nothing to worry about. I feel sorry for YOU,” he emphasized. “I’m getting old and haggard, and you’re even more beautiful than the day I married you.” His strong hand guided her towards him, placing a firm but loving kiss on her lips.

(Y/n) sat in front of a mirror as her best friend adjusted her veil. A frown plastered her face.   
“I don’t think I should do this, I mean, we’ve only been together for six months. It’s kind of a whirlwind, don’t you think?” Fingers busied themselves nervously with the delicate beading of her dress, arguably one that wasn’t even remotely her style. (Y/f/n) swiveled her chair to meet her eyes. “This is supposed to be the happiest day of your life, you have to stop trying to talk yourself out of it. You finally have a man that won’t go disappearing on you, it’s literally the best thing that’s ever happened to you.” (Y/n)’s eyes welled up with tears.   
“But what if he comes back? What if he comes back and I’m married to someone else? I don’t know if I could live with myself.”  
“Five isn’t coming back. The Umbrella Academy assholes are all maladjusted, miserable people. You know this just as well as I do.” She shot back bitterly.  
“Just because you and Diego didn’t get a happy ending, that doesn’t mean I can’t.” Her friend passed her a tissue, expression softening.  
“I’m sorry, (Y/n). I’m not trying to be hard on you, I know this is a stressful day. But this is what it is. This is your happily ever after! Let’s celebrate!” She handed her a champagne flute, and toasted the bride and her bridesmaids.   
As she sipped her champagne, she began to wonder if Five had ever loved her at all, considering he had never said those words in any exact capacity. Maybe he simply felt comfort in her presence. Her fiancé never missed an opportunity for those words to pour from his lips, like a slow, miserable drip from a leaky pipe. He was even accepting of the fact that she did not want to sleep with him before the wedding, completely oblivious that the only reason was that the thought of another man touching her made her feel sick.  
Pachelbel’s Cannon in D began playing throughout the garden, and she felt her chest tighten. This wasn’t the song she wanted, but her fiancé was incredibly traditional. She chose to have no one give her away, so she would take this long walk to the altar completely alone and exposed. Her fiancé wasn’t particularly pleased with that either. Plastering on some semblance of a smile, she strode slowly, taking in all of the faces in the crowd, doing her best to not look up at the groom. She knew it wouldn’t be the absentee man of her dreams, the one she had loved since she was 12. No, that man was lost in the aether of time, with an important job of maintaining order in a world made of entirely chaos. This would be as good as it could possibly get. There was nothing wrong with her fiancé per say: he was handsome, had an excellent job and most importantly, was there all the time. Unlike Five, who could only offer middle of the night trysts where fevered hands did the talking, those fleeting moments he could break away from the Commission without being caught. Nights where he couldn’t utter a single word to her, since any moment speaking would be a moment his lips weren’t on hers. The moments that she knew he was a ship without an anchor, the only thing holding him to those hours in time were his desperate hands clinging to her. None of those stolen moments mattered anymore. Her feet planted firmly in front of the man with whom she had every intention of spending her life, she took a deep breath. The string quartet stopped. Cicadas began singing as the sun set.   
“Does anyone with us today have a reason why these two should not be joined in marriage? Speak now or forever hold your peace.”  
A bright blue light illuminated the middle of the aisle.   
“I do.” Five stood there in a slick black suit, looking as though he had just come from a day of work at the Commission. His jaw tense, he stood for a moment as the realization dawned on everyone in the audience.   
“Oh hell no,” her maid of honor stepped in front of her, “who the FUCK do you think you are? Showing up today of all days, after MONTHS of radio silence. You have DESTROYED her, give her this chance to make it right.” He closed distance, and couldn’t help but laugh to himself at the dumbfounded look on the groom’s face. He probably didn’t even know about them.   
“Don’t speak for her. (Y/n), please hear me out…I love you. I’ve loved you since we were kids. I should have said it sooner. I couldn’t stand by and watch the love of my life marry someone else, not without telling you my piece first.” Her expression was blank underneath her veil: there was no reading the myriad of emotions she was feeling. She stepped in front of (Y/f/n), placing her hand gently on her shoulder, giving her a knowing nod. Gently, she swept the veil away from her face, and crossed her arms, as if wordlessly telling him to continue. Five swallowed hard.   
“The Commission was testing me…They’ve sent me to this moment in time over and over again. I’ve watched you be with someone else no less than a dozen times now, and I can’t do this anymore. The first night we-“ he paused, deciding better than to bring up the events of that particular evening”…this is where I came from. I had just watched you marry him, and it broke me.”  
“But the timeline….the variables, the rules?” She gestured vaguely.   
“Fuck the timeline, and fuck the Commission. I quit. Nothing in this world is worth it to watch you end up with someone else. Maybe that’s selfish, maybe I’m an ass.” He shrugged, and she did not respond. Peering around the room at the attendants, they all seemed to be weighing what was going to happen next. Five stood in front of her, placing his hands on the sides of her face. “I’m a terrible romantic, always have been, but here it goes. I can’t promise you that things will be stable. Hell, I can’t promise that they’ll even be good. But I promise you, there is no one in any timeline, in any reality, anywhere, that will love you more than I do.” In a swift motion, he dropped to his knee. “Let’s get married instead, (Y/n). You and I.” Gasps and murmurs erupted from the crowd, as she turned her back on him and walked up to her groom, still dumbfounded at the altar.  
“Sorry…” she said in almost a whisper, removing the ring that she never particularly liked from her finger and placing it gently in his palm. From this vantage point, Five could not make out what was happening, but watched the groom’s expression change from shock to defeat. He found that he couldn’t move, frozen in time, with baited breath. (Y/n) turned on her heels, looking at the man kneeling on the floor.   
“Five…stand up.” She put her hands out, helping him up. “Are you ready?”  
His confusion was apparent. “Ready for what?”   
“To marry me, dumbass. This is all already paid for, if we’re going to do it, let’s do it right now.” She threw her arms around his neck. “This is all I’ve ever wanted. Marry me, Five?”   
Nodding, he nervously fumbled around in the pocket of his dress pants. “You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I bought this ring in 1921 in Paris on one of my first jobs with the Commission…I’ve had this for years…”He placed in on her finger, their hands steadying one another. “I’ve always known that it had to be you.”  
The ceremony was filled with laughter and tears, despite the grand exit of nearly half the attendants when the bride dumped the groom at the altar. The event was postponed for an hour, so Five could contact his family to attend. The reception roared into early evening marked by jovial alcohol consumption. “I know I’ve been asking a lot of big questions today, but I have one more thing I need of you, Mrs. Hargreeves.” Five murmured in her ear, surrounded by people on the dance floor.   
“Anything, for you. What do you need?” She replied back as seductive as she could.   
“I need you…” he nipped at her neck …”to….” He peppered kisses along her jaw. “cut the Commission tracking device out of my arm.”  
“The ACTUAL fuck, Five???” She screeched, slightly tipsy.   
“Yep, then we throw it in the river. After that I’m completely yours. I’ll finally be able to wake up next to you.” Weighing her options, she nodded.   
“Let’s do it.”  
The pair snuck into the bathroom of the reception hall, stumbling and giggling. He removed his dress shirt and flung it over the top of the bathroom stall door, removing a small thin blade from a holster around his ankle. Kneeling near the sink, he draped his arm over the drain, placing the blade in her hand.  
“You know how much I love you, right, Five?” She eyed him nervously.   
“I’ve always known. I love you, too. Now let’s get on with this, I’m going to need another drink after this.” He pointed at the spot on his arm, indicating the location of the tracking device. (Y/n) gently pressed the tip of the blade into his arm, creating a small incision. A sudden, sharp breath escaped his lips as he took the blade from her, digging out a small pill shaped device from his forearm. He applied a butterfly bandage, and pulled his button up back on.   
“Let’s start our happily ever after.”

“So I’ve been making all of these calculations, right?” (Y/n) pulled his clothing out of the dryer and tossed it on the couch. He began getting dressed, since he knew he reasonably only had a few more minutes until he had to go back. “And since I know the exact date, my plan is to travel to just a week before, and see if I can nail down the cataclysm that causes the apocalypse. I’ll have to connect with my brothers and sisters…”  
She stared at him with exhausted eyes. “So if you can prevent it, maybe we can actually go back to having a normal life?”  
“I think so. We can finally settle down, I can assemble the bookshelves for all the books I’ve been stealing from the Academy and stashing over here, breakfast, lunch, and dinner together every night…and maybe…”  
“Maybe what, Five?” He turned towards her, smirking.   
“We can finally start a family?” a guffaw escaped her mouth, as her hands flew up to cover it.   
“Five Hargreeves, wanting to be a family man? I thought you ‘never wanted to bring kids into this world’ and ‘didn’t want to risk them having powers and ruin their lives’.” He shrugged.   
“I don’t know. I guess living through the apocalypse has given me some perspective.” His hands rubbed together rapidly, as he prepared to travel back, knowing this version of himself couldn’t remain here permanently. “I’ll see you the week before the Apocalypse, okay?” He disappeared in a haze of blue once again, and (Y/n) collapsed on the couch.

Just a few blissful years: that was all they were able to squeeze out of their marriage, before the Commission inevitably caught wind of their location. The tall blonde woman, the Handler, had appeared in their front yard, ready to strike up a deal with Five. He had two options: stay in the present, and himself and (Y/n) would be killed at a date of the Commission’s choosing. Be sent to the future and continue work for the Commission, and they would allow them both to live. Little did he know that his punishment would be far worse: they provided him a faulty briefcase, their particular method for time travel, which led to him being stuck in time. The years he spent in the Apocalyptic wasteland allowed him to regain some of his strength, and he began the time leaps that brought him back to (Y/n) in various parts of the timeline.

The final date marked on her calendar in bright red marker had arrived. “This is the last one,” she murmured to herself. “Now if the world could just not end in a week, that would be great…” Nervously, she adjusted the delicate ring that Five had gotten from Paris technically nearly a century ago. A tingling in her scalp alerted her to an intense feeling of dread that had suddenly taken root: something bad was about to happen. Maybe just the impending doom of the apocalypse, maybe something else. She was started by a knock at the door. “Well at least I know it’s not Five, since he’d just poof into the room.” She swung the door open, “Can I help….you….?”  
“This is bad, (Y/n). This is really bad.” Five stood before her in his school uniform: the very same he had worn when they had first met. She peered down at the young teenager before her. By all appearances, it was just some gangly fifteen year old kid, certainly not her husband; unfortunately, she knew better. Some things about him stayed exactly the same: his eyes, the timbre of his voice, the way he stared at her when he was panicking. “Something was wrong in my calculations…I’m stuck like this and I can’t jump.”  
“Oh…..Oh, God….”


	2. The Here and Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five has returned, and no one expected the condition that he would be in. Can (Y/n) and Five navigate the major set backs, thwart the Apocalypse, and resume their happily ever after?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I do not own these characters. This is complete cannon divergent, and a bit self indulgent, so forgive me. Also no proofreading, we live and die in the beta*

She stared blankly at the young man that stood distressed on her porch. “Five…I….Hurry up, get inside.” Her hand darted out to grab the sleeve of his tailored blazer, and she quickly dragged him through the threshold. He awkwardly stood in the foyer of their house, with his hands shoved in the pockets of his shorts.  
  
“(Y/n) this is a nightmare. I’m an old man trapped in this body. Ever had growing pains and indigestion at the same time?” He glowered up at her. A quiet snicker escaped from her lips. “You think this is funny? Huh?”

The snicker sparked a roar of laughter that erupted deep from her belly, and Five could do nothing but stare blankly at her. He considered the last time he saw her looking genuinely this amused by something was the day of their wedding after they had tossed his Commission tracking device.

“I mean, no. It’s not funny. It’s just…ridiculous. I waited all this time. Counted all these days. And you show up here….like….” she gestures vaguely. “It’s absolutely absurd, and honestly, kind of unfair. Here is was, expecting my 100% normal, thirty year old husband to poof into my house today. And I get the awkward teenager slash old man version of you. This is too much.” She dramatically wiped tears from her eyes.

“Okay, are you done now?” Five stated frankly, with no hint of irritation. He opened his arms to her and she met his embrace, throwing her arms over his shoulders.

“It’s really hard to hug you like this. You lost a few inches in the fray, buddy.” She pressed a kiss onto the top of his head. He pulled away from her to protest, but she just pulled him back in tightly.

“Come on my grumpy little man. Let’s get you over to the Academy and see if your family can possibly help with this. They’re used to things outside of the ordinary.

The couple walked down the street, awkwardly meeting the glances of everyone around them. The uniform jacket was telling, and it was apparent that everyone was shocked to see the prodigal son of the Umbrella Academy, alive and in the flesh, looking exactly how he did nearly fifteen years ago. A man pushing a two seat baby stroller gave them a wide berth on the sidewalk, and gave (Y/n) a double take.

“(Y/n) (Y/L/M/N)?” He proclaimed, causing Y/n to screech to a halt. She turned to face the man, quickly glancing down at the stoller.

“Um, yes? It’s actually (Y/n) Hargreeves now, but yes, that’s me.” Realization dawned on her, and hit her in the face like a runaway freight train. “Uh, how are you, (ex F/n)?”

“I’m great! So great, it’s really fantastic to see you! I’m just on the way to surprise the wife at work, it’s her first week back after her maternity leave, and I know she’s missing the kiddos.” (Y/n) glanced down at the pair of cooing babies in the stoller. “And who’s this strapping young gentleman? I didn’t know you had a little brother.”

Five took an immediate offensive stance. “I’m Five Hargreeves, and I’m her HUSBAND.”

“Oh, God I’m sorry. I guess you just looked a little different the last time I saw you….At our, uh, or rather, your, uh. Wedding.” The young man stammered, and (Y/n) watched Five grow increasingly more irritated.

“Yep, Five is a time traveler extraordinaire. Just had a little mishap with his calculations. He’s not normally a teenager, or anything. Like, it’s not like that at all, I mean…God that sounds so weird. Sorry.” She was beginning to grow flustered, and no longer felt the need to explain herself. “It was nice seeing you, we’ve got to be going now.” Her arm linked around Five’s, as she began dragging him away.

“Well you couldn’t have possibly made that any more awkward,” Five fretted at her. “Bad enough you dumped him at the alter and now you had to explain how your husband, who I don’t know if I mentioned it already, but you DUMPED HIM FOR, is stuck in a teenage body.” 

She whipped around him in front of him, staring him down. “Look, you don’t get to be angry at me for your mistake. It’s not my fault that you aren’t even old enough to DRIVE now.”  
  
“Well you could have driven if you had ever taken the time to learn how to drive a stick shift.” Five puffed up his chest to look tougher, but it was futile in his current form.

“You’re the one who was never around long enough to teach me how to do it.” He flinched, and she instantly felt a wave of guilt wash over her. “Five, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. We’re both just…tense right now. The world is ending, you’re hormonal and also crabby because you probably won’t get to take advantage of the senior citizen discount at Griddy’s today.”

He couldn’t help but laugh at her. The moment he fell through the portal, and realizing his body was now in shambles due to his miscalculations, all he could think was how she would react. Would she faint? Would she promptly turn him away? Instead, she surpassed all of his expectations and was making jokes at his expense. He paused for a moment and grabbed her hand, rubbing his thumb across her knuckles. “You know, now more than ever, I’m so glad I married you. I can’t imagine anyone else being able to handle this curveball.”

“What can I say, Mr. Hargreeves. You had me on the hook for a long time. A little hiccup like this isn’t going to scare me off.” He smiled, lacing his fingers with hers as they continued down the street, the Umbrella Academy looming just a few blocks ahead.

The pair quietly entered the front door, only to be bombarded by all of the siblings at once. Five sulked behind his wife, as each of his family members warmly embraced her. Klaus picked her up and spun her around, quickly locking eyes with his brother.  
  
“Oh Jesus Christ, what do we have here?” Klaus murmured, gently placing (Y/n) down on the ground. “If it isn’t our dear little brother, alive and in the flesh…And perhaps a few inches shorter than last time we saw you, hm?”

Allison spoke next without giving Five a chance to respond, a look of shock on her face. “So I’m guessing something wasn’t quite right with your math, was it?”

Five pulled on the sleeves of his blazer. “You can say that again. I fucked up royally. That’s the least of our concerns now though. We only have a few days to stop the Apocalypse from happening, and I still have no idea how we’re going to do it.”

Days had passed, and the family was no closer to determining the catalyst of the Apocalypse than they were when Five and (Y/n) had returned to the Academy. They sat around the kitchen table on the day that Five had so loudly proclaimed would be the end of the world, all eyes sunken in from lack of sleep. Luther dragged his hands down his face, as he looked over at Five sulking over his late night cup of coffee. “Maybe it’s just inevitable. We should have had at least some clue by now.” 

Allison scanned over the newspapers scattered along the table. “I mean, there’s nothing in the news that indicates anything out of the ordinary. Nothing political, no threats of nuclear warfare, literally nothing.”

“Or maybe it’s just not going to happen at all? I mean, today is the day isn’t it? Everything has been completely normal.” (Y/n) yawned, her forehead meeting the wooden table 

“Maybe it’s you, little brother,” Klaus said, pausing to light the joint pressed between his lips. “I mean, think about it. You’re the only one who experienced the end of the world. Did you ever think, maybe it has something to do with you?” Vanya nodded her head in agreement.

“Klaus might actually have a point. Have you done anything you know of to alter the timeline at all?”

“Yeah, you know like, in time travel movies where someone accidentally kills a bug and it causes the entire future to change? Killed any bugs lately, Five? Or like, Presidents, or whatever it was you had to do with the Commission?” Klaus coughed.

Five thought for a moment, taking a sip of his coffee. “Not really, before I left the Commission, I only did one thing….” (Y/n) jerked her head up from the table, eyes widening. The family looked at him expectantly, then over to her. “You know, the whole crashing her wedding day thing. The head of the Commission, the Handler warned me she would kill us, but I didn’t really think much about it.” The group collectively groaned.  
  
Diego stabbed a blade into the table. “Well, these are the kinds of things you might want to tell us, Five. Your former boss literally threatening to murder you seems like a pretty good reason to be on high alert.”

A loud rap at the front door of the Academy put everyone on high alert. They all rose from their spots, quietly making their way towards the door.   
  
“Hey, maybe it’s the Apocalypse knocking. We can just ignore it, maybe they’ll think we aren’t home.” Klaus whispered, throwing the remains of his spent joint into a potted plant. Diego peeked out a window near the door.  
  
“It’s some blonde woman in a dress. Sound familiar?” He whispered, and Five immediately straightened his tie.  
  
“Yep, I’ll take this.” He moved towards the door to unlock it, coming face to face with the Handler.

“Good evening, Five…Assorted Hargreeves.” She flourished her hand, shoving past Five into the living room, depositing a large briefcase by the door. “And Mrs. Hargreeves, a pleasure to see you once again.” (Y/n) felt her heart tighten in her chest, recalling the last ill fated encounter with the woman, and the impossible choice she posed for the pair.

“Wish I could say the same,” (Y/n) scoffed. “Care to tell us why you’re here? You’re getting a bit too familiar with these unexpected housecalls.” The family gathered around her in a protective stance, and she felt the tightness in her chest dissipate.

“Well, I did advise you that I’d be back at a date of MY choosing to dispose of the pair of you, didn’t I?” The Handler towered over (Y/n) in her heels, frowning down at her.

Five shook his head. “That wasn’t part of the deal. I came back to the Commission, I did what you asked, and you sent me to that God-forsaken wasteland.”

She advanced towards Five. “Ah, yes, that much is true. But what I didn’t anticipate was you defying the odds. Do you know what the odds were that you’d be able to time travel back to any point in time to your _wife_?” She emphasized, venom dripping in her voice. “One in thirty million. Now, wouldn’t you say, the odds of that are simply astronomical?” Five looked over at (Y/n) and his family.

She paused, looking back at the family, then pointed her icy gaze to (Y/n). “You two couldn’t just leave well enough alone, could you?” The Handler smirked at the distressed boy, as she positioned herself in between him and his wife. “Did you really think I could allow you to take everything from me?” 

“I didn’t do anything to you. I did my job, I did my time. I just want to live the rest of my life with my wife.” He glowered at her, as she chuckled.

“Five, tell me, why do you think I had such a vested interest in you and your boring little wife here, in your holy union, hm?” She gestured behind her. He shrugged.  
  
“I haven’t the inkiest, enough with the damn riddles, why don’t you fill us all in on why you’re so hell bent on killing us?”

The Handler nonchalantly looked at the gun in her hand, then turned towards (Y/n), cocking it in her direction. “It’s really nothing personal, dear. It’s about your baby. Specifically, the baby that you’re set to have in…oh…” She thought a beat, “four years, give or take. If I eliminate you now, the Apocalypse can resume right on schedule.” The family exhaled a collective gasp.

Klaus laughed, “Well, congratulations to my dear brother and his wife on their non-existent baby. But I have to ask, when did you get in the business of murdering babies?”

“Let me break it down for you. If Five had followed orders, he never would have married (Y/n). (Y/n) would have settled down with….that boring guy, what’s his name? Five would have continued working for the Commission, and everything would have been hunky dory. But the moment he defied his orders, the entire timeline changed. He and (Y/n) had their happily ever after, and eventually, (Y/n) will give birth to a beautiful, bouncing baby girl. Not just a girl though, the most powerful time traveler in history, in any timeline. With the inherited skills of her father, and with the complex ability of their mother to become a big flashing beacon in the space-time continuum, which might I add, didn’t seem like much until we determined Five could find her in ANY timeline under any circumstance, you have a recipe for someone powerful enough to overthrow the entire Commission, namely me. Because this child was born, the entire scenario for the Apocalypse was avoided completely, no matter what variables we changed, infinitely into the future. It just never happens. The only variable that changed was me. My entire life’s work, bypassed, like a bump in the road. The Apocalypse that I deemed absolutely necessary, gone, thanks to a single choice.”

Allison stared at the Handler incredulously. “So what you’re really saying, is you’re too selfish and drunk off power to give it up. Someone more suited to the job, who doesn’t even exist yet, is so much of a threat to you, that you’ll eliminate anyone involved?”

“Well, I was only going to eliminate (Y/n), I don’t particularly enjoy getting my hands messy. There would have been no greater delight than seeing Five suffer for his indiscretions; however, since the whole family is here, I might as well make a day of it.” 

Chaos erupted in the expanse of the Umbrella Academy’s living room. (Y/n) wasn’t sure who cast the first stone, but a flurry of bullets began raining down on the Hargreeves family. Diego curved as many of the bullets as he could, as he ushered her towards the hallway. She craned her neck to peer over his shoulder, desperately trying to find Five in the fray, as she was shoved into a bedroom in the hallway, a gun being thrust into her hands by her brother-in-law. In defeat, she pressed herself against the wooden door, trying to hear anything at all, only to be met with the sounds of glass and furniture breaking, guns being fired, indiscernible shouts of her family fighting for their lives. 

Gathering her resolve, she crept from the room, unable to stand not knowing what was occurring just beyond the walls. Gun outstretched in front of her, she quietly made her way down the hall, just as all of the fighting abruptly stopped.

“Where the hell did she go?” Vanya hissed, as the family peered around, puzzled. “We had her pinned down?”

Luther cautiously evaluated the rest of the family. “I don’t like this one bit. She wouldn’t just zap out of her, would she?” Allison looked towards the front door, noting the telltale briefcase that sat by the door.  
“She’s still here somewhere, she couldn’t get out without the briefcase.”

(Y/n) peeked around the corner glancing around at the scene before her. All of the lightbulbs in the room had been mostly shattered and the room was awash with the little light that shone in through the innumerable windows. In the dim light, chairs and tables could be seen upturned and scattered around the room.

“Five?” She called out weakly, in a desperate bid to get his attention. His gaze quickly turned towards her, and a look of terror overtook his features. A loud pop resounded through the space, and a searing pain shot through the center of her chest. Slowly, (Y/n) peered down, noting the slow stream of dark red that stained the front her shirt. Everything started to go black, as Five rushed towards her.

“What did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?” He screamed at the Handler who stood smugly behind where (Y/n) had collapsed on the floor. Five removed his blazer and pressed the fabric to her steadily bleeding chest.

“Restoring order, that’s what, Five. Her being alive was a conflict of interest I suppose you could say. I think there’s going to be a little change of plans though, seeing the anguish on your face, I think that’s the best punishment I could ask for.” She glided past the family towards the briefcase, and no one moved.

“(Y/n) please stay with me, stay awake, you’re going to be fine.” Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, as he desperately fumbled with the compress on her chest. Her breath began to slow, as she reached up and pressed a hand to Five’s cheek. Klaus crouched down beside the pair, and placed his hand over Five’s.

“Five, I can feel her leaving. She isn’t going to make it.” Klaus whispered, remorseful. Five stood beside her, the space all around him glowing blue.

“I didn’t come all this way through time just to lose her.” He tightly shut his eyes, and the room began moving slowly in reverse, the Handler moving slowly backwards towards the clandestine hallway. (Y/n)’s crumpled form rose from the spot on the ground, the dark blood receding back into her body, as Five’s nose began bleeding profusely from his efforts. He felt himself weaken, as the scene resumed before him.

“Where the hell did she go?” Vanya hissed, looking towards Five who stood in his new spot near the hallway. “We had her pinned down?”

“She’s in the hallway,” he replied weakly. “She’s going to kill (Y/n). I just….reversed time by just a few minutes. We have to make sure she doesn’t kill her this time.” A moment later, (Y/n) peered around the corner. Five rushed forward with the last bit of strength he had left, pulling her into the living room and shoving her aside as he collapsed on top of her. The Handler revealed herself, looking thoroughly confused. The gun fell to her side.  
  
“Well, this is certainly odd. Did our boy just manipulate time here? So much power, so much wasted on a perfectly normal girl.”

Klaus strode forward, fists illuminated. “She’s not perfectly normal, she loves Five and that’s a feat all on its own. The kid’s hard to love, no doubt about that, but she does, and that’s worth saving.” In a flash, a barrage of tentacles burst forth from his chest, and the ghostly figure of Ben could be seen just beyond Klaus’s form. The Horror reached forth, grabbing onto the Handler’s limbs, gruesomely tearing her apart bit by bit. The family looked on in shock at the grisly scene, until there was nothing left of the Handler but a puddle of blood and gore, spewed on the floor and walls.

And just like that, the Handler was gone, ripped apart by otherworldly forces that seeped from Klaus’s body. The family stood, stark-still, covered in entrails, before erupting in fits of laughter. Luther swept Allison up in his arms, her shrieking delightedly. “I can’t believe that’s it. That it was just that easy. Klaus, I think dad might have been wrong about your powers being totally useless.”

Klaus’s hands were still shaking, as he peered down at them in disbelief. “That….bitch. I can’t believe she would have just killed (Y/n) to intentionally cause the Apocalypse. And (Y/n)…” he shot a glance over at her. “I can’t believe you were the key it all along.”

She hadn’t moved. The ringing in her ears had barely subsided, when she pressed her hands into Five’s chest to meet him face to face. His expression was barely readable, save for the telltale upturn of the corners of his mouth. The words came out so soft, the family could barely make it out. “Our baby? The Handler couldn’t handle the idea of being replaced…That’s why. That’s why they warned me we couldn’t be together. Why they tortured me, making me see you be with that asshole over and over again. If we were together, the Apocalypse would never even happen. I really ruined her timeline, didn’t I?” He chuckled, rolling over onto the bloody floor, wiping his nose of his own blood.

Diego walked across the room towards the phone, wiping his knives on his already bloodied pants. Vanya looked at him incredulously. “Diego what on earth are you doing? Is now really time to make a phone call?”

He picked up the phone and dialed quickly. “It is. I’m calling (Y/f/n). Knowing how close we were to the whole world ending, I’m not taking anymore chances.” (Y/n) turned to him, shocked.  
“You know, she’s been hung up on you for years, Diego. I think everyone deserves a chance at a happy ending, now.” Five stood and stretched his hand down to hers and pulled her up. He carefully snaked his arm around her waist, pressing a chaste kiss on her bare and bloodied shoulder. “Even us, Five.” 

He smiled, peering up at her through his dark hair. “Especially us, Mrs. Hargreeves. Especially us.”

Luther lurched over to the liquor cabinet, and sighed. “You know, I know it’s usually Klaus that suggests we start drinking, but I propose we go ahead and pop one of these nice bottles and celebrate tonight.” And they did. Vanya pulled out her violin, creating lively, happy music for the group as they danced and laughed around the living room. Allison stole a not so secret kiss from Luther, and the family loudly teased them, secretly grateful that they were no longer hiding their affections after so many years. Klaus was able to manifest Ben once more, who although he couldn’t drink, still engaged in the party just as much as any living person could. Diego had snuck out quietly sometime after his phone call, and (Y/n) hoped with all hope that he was finally going to apologize for being a such a jerk to her closest friend.

Five had pulled her into what she could only describe as an “awkward middle school style slow dance”, with her arms clasped loosely around his shoulders as they swayed side to side. “You know”, Five started, “my father taught all of us how to ballroom dance as kids.” 

(Y/n) laughed, pulling him in a bit closer. “Is there anything you can’t do, Five? You’re remarkable.”

“Well obviously I’m not great at time travel, but I think those days might be behind me. At least, after I figure out how to get my normal body back.” He frowned. “(Y/n), have you considered what we’re going to do if I’m stuck like this? Permanently?”

She considered him for a moment. “Truthfully, no. I hadn’t really considered that to be a possibility. I mean, it would be kind of nice, you’d be able to take care of me when I get old and senile.” He pushed his foot forward and tripped her, easily causing her to lose her balance in her tipsy state . “HEY! Come on, Five, you know I’m kidding. I think…..I think we’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it, okay? I love you. I love you no matter what. Even if we can’t really….do the thing normal married people do. It’ll be okay.” She yawned, slowing her movements.

“I admire your persistent optimism. But my wife appears to be growing weary. Want to go relax in the library while I go over some of my old notes?” She nodded, craning down to place her head on his shoulder. “Alright, let’s go.” He gently pulled her arm across the back of his shoulders, and they made their way towards the stairs, calling out their goodnights to the family as they went.

The math was right there all along, in one of his oldest, most worn down notebooks. In disbelief, he reread his notes over and over, and was sure he couldn’t have possibly gotten it wrong. (Y/n) was dozing off in the plush arm chair, and he took a moment to admire her: all of the stress from the impending doom was gone. No tell-tale gunshot wound, no signs of excessive blood-loss. Her shoulders were no longer tense, the space between her eyes no longer creased. A peaceful expression had fallen over her, as though she would be perfectly content to live out her days in that chair with Five’s company, illuminated only by the small lamp in the middle of the table.

He drew a large red circle around the offending equation, and rose from his spot. He peered down at her snoozing form, and ran his hand through her hair. Careful not to wake her, he placed the notebook on the arm of the chair and strode quietly towards the door, knowing what he had to do.

He whispered something softly to himself, towards the empty hallways of the Academy.

_The ocean waves were breaking softly along the shore, now littered with seashells after an afternoon rainstorm. The only chaos that remained was the wind that whipped through her hair, now unruly and wild from the rain. She turned around and saw him standing there, frozen in time with a grin on his face. Everything moved in slow motion as she ran towards him, crashing into his embrace. His palms rested on her cheeks, capturing her in a passionate kiss, until a small voice interrupted them._

_“Mommy? Daddy?” She turned to peer down at the source of the small voice, to be met by a tiny girl with dark hair and verdant green eyes. Five bent down, finding purchase under the child’s arms, hoisting her to his chest. (Y/n) gingerly kissed the child’s forehead, then pressed another dizzying kiss to Five’s lips. He whispered words against her flesh that she had read so long before, words that were so real, she’s certain she couldn’t have dreamed them. “If something happens, just know I’ll find you eventually. I promise.”_

(Y/n) woke with a start, knocking something off the arm of the chair. She slowly reached down, peering down at the foreign numbers and figures, outlined in bold red, then glanced across the room. Five was no longer situated at the table, and she began to panic. The woman leapt from her chair, sprinting down the hallway, shouting at the top of her lungs.

“Five? Five where are you?!” The pounding of her feet and the thundering of her pulse led her straight to his childhood room’s door. Before she could connect with the doorknob, a flash of blue illuminated the space beneath the door, accompanied by the telltale “pop” of her husband attempting some sort of jump. She flung the door open wide, only to be met once again with darkness. The room was empty: Five was gone. Again.

Weeks had passed, maybe even months at this point. (Y/n) wasn’t sure. No longer having the list of dates to guide her now that the Apocalypse had been avoided, she had, for the most part, lost herself in time. She could only assume it was midday, judging by the light that cascaded through the windows. Padding down the halls of their still empty home, she stopped to stare at herself in the bathroom mirror: her eyes had grown weary, and her hair was a matted mess, sticking up in all directions. Gently, she prodded at her ribs, which protruded slightly more than usual, a testament to her terrible diet since Five had…..Disappeared? That didn’t feel like the right word for it. Someone can’t disappear when this is their entire modus operandi. The absences were something she had grown accustomed to, but this time felt entirely different. There was no carefully curated list of dates, handwritten by Five. Nothing to look forward to. Nothing to expect. Not even a “goodbye” or “I’ll see you soon” to soothe her addled brain, only the words echoed in her dream from the note he wrote her as a child.

Starting the shower, she went through the motions. “This is what he would want me to do, right?” She thought to herself. “He would want me to try to be normal. Whatever that means.” Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. “Come on, don’t cry. You cried it all out the first week. You’re too dehydrated to cry anymore.” Throwing her clothes haphazardly across the bathroom, she climbed into the shower.

And there she sat. She sat on the floor of the walk-in shower until the water ran cold. When she finally collected herself from the floor and wrapped herself in an oversized towel, she could have sworn she caught the wafting scent of coffee, but she waved it off as wishful thinking. (Y/n) glided towards the kitchen, a towel-clad phantom of a person haunting her home. Just beyond the threshold, she stopped dead in her tracks. A full pot of coffee sat brewed on the countertop, steam floating towards to ceiling. For a moment her breath left her lungs. Clutching her towel to her tightly, she raced towards the living room where Five Hargreeves, looking about fifteen years older than their last encounter, sat on the couch. The moment he laid eyes on her, he moved towards her as fast as his legs would carry him, stopping short as he saw her chest heaving in what he could only assume to be rage.

“I can explain. I can explain everything.” Five spoke calmly, as though he were trying to persuade an animal to not attack him. “I had the equations right years ago, I just didn’t realize it before. I was such a cocky asshole kid back then. I knew I could make this jump, it had to be just the right moment in time to get it perfect, to get me back to my normal body. Back to you.” 

“Are you….Are you really home? For good? Just like this?” Her breathing was still erratic, knuckles turning with how tightly she squeezed the towel.

“For good.” He nodded, taking a step closer.

“And no more big jumps? No more accidentally getting stuck in the wrong body?”

“Nope. No more Commission. No more assassinations. I think it’s time to grow old…again. The right way.” He reached towards her, his palms resting on her shoulders.

“And what’s the right way, Five?” She closed her eyes, relishing in the warmth of his hands.

“Together. With you.”

She moved so quickly Five was afraid he may not be able to grab her in time. She darted forward, throwing her arms and legs around him, nearly knocking him to the ground. He supported her weight and held her flush against him. A sob erupted from her against the side of his neck.  
  
“Promise me, Five. Promise you won’t ever leave me like that again. I was so scared you were gone. For good. That you would be lost and I would have no idea.” She grabbed his face, kissing him in earnest over and over, her lips salty from the broken dam of tears that ran down her face. “God, I never want to stop kissing you. It feels like I haven’t been able to in ages.”

Five felt his emotions getting the better of him, and thought for a moment that he may cry. “You know I was always going to make it back to you. My lighthouse.” He smiled against her kiss, returning it with equal fervor.

“Take me to bed, Five. I think we need to make up for lost time, no pun intended.”


	3. The Happily Ever After

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *I do not own these characters. This chapter takes place five years after the second chapter.*

Banners and streamers littered the courtyard of the Umbrella Academy. The bright laughter of children echoed through the air, as the adults sat around the table sipping cocktails. (Y/n) was perched in Five’s lap, his head rested on her shoulder. 

“I really don’t know how you guys do it.” Allison laughed. “I am SO glad that Claire wasn’t born with any powers. Must be a recessive gene or something.” Luther’s huge hand rested on her knee.

“Yeah, Claire is a handful without her being able to rumor us into getting literally everything she wants. I can’t even imagine.” Klaus deposited another tray of drinks on the table, taking a seat amongst his siblings.

“You guys haven’t even had to babysit yet, consider yourself lucky. Last weekend, she reversed time FOUR times just so she could eat the pizza we ordered again. And again, and again.” Klaus laughed, glancing over at the young girl, playing with a group of her schoolmates. “She’s probably going to rewind this whole party so she can do it again, you can tell she’s loving all of the attention.”

“Oh come on guys, we don’t give her free reign over time travel. We can’t help she’s a prodigy.” (Y/n) rolled her eyes, sipping her drink. “She hasn’t even started doing time jumps yet, thank God. I’ll probably have a head full of grey hair when she does.”

Five squeezed his wife gently. “You know I’ve got it under control when she does. She’s learning from the best.” She elbowed him playfully, pressing a quick kiss to his temple.

“With my luck, you’re going to get her stuck as a five year old and we’ll be dealing with THIS for the rest of our lives.” She gestures over at the child, who was now in a tug of war match with another child, screaming all the while. Vanya rose from her seat, making her way towards the children.

“Aunt Vanya’s got this, you guys stay put and enjoy the party.” The couple watched as Vanya crouched down, consoling the crying child. Scooping her up in her arms, she made her way back to the table. “I think it might be time for little D to take a nap, what do you think sweetheart?” 

“But it’s my party,” the dark haired girl hiccupped through her tears, outstretching her arms towards Five and (Y/n). “Mommy I want more cake, can I have more cake?” (Y/n) stretched out her arms, cradling the child, and Five reached down to ruffle her hair.

“In just a little while, I think you’re getting cranky because you’re tired.” Five murmured over (Y/n)’s shoulder. The little girl peered up at them. 

“Okay, so if I take a nap, I can have more cake?” She yawned, snuggling further into her parents’ embrace.

“Of course, you can even take your nap in the special hammock if you want. You’re the birthday girl, after all!” (Y/n) carefully stood, carrying the weight of the child, placing her gently in the brightly colored hammock. 

While (Y/n) tucked the child in, Five peered over at Diego. “So, dear brother. How many more months til we meet your little one?” Diego grinned over at (Y/f/n) as she rubbed her swollen belly. 

“We’re in the last trimester. Probably three or four more weeks before our little asskicker is born.” He beamed. “I can only hope our kiddo gets the badass gene. I’ll have her throwing knives before she can even say her first words.” (Y/f/n) rolled her eyes, and peered down at her belly.

“You better not. Our little Grace can choose if she wants to use her powers or not…That is, if she’s born with them. Seems like kind of a crapshoot, since we’re one for two with the Hargreeves spawns right now.” Klaus and Vanya look at one another.

“We’re both going to adopt. No freaking way are we trying to pass this down to anyone.” They share a laugh, as (Y/n) makes her way back to the table.

“What’d I miss?” She says, glancing at the family, sipping on her drink. 

“Oh, just discussing the…What did she call it? The Hargreeves spawns?” Five patted his lap and (Y/n) plopped back down comfortably. “I wonder if our next one will have any abilities.”

“Oh slow your roll, Five. There’s no way we’re having any more for a WHILE, maybe ever. Dolores is a handful enough. Can you even imagine?”

“I mean, I never imagined having kids at all. Now I have a beautiful wife, my daughter is the next head of the Commission, and the family is back together sharing cocktails in the courtyard of the home we hated. Of all the impossible things that could have happened, I think anything is possible now.” He placed his hand on her cheek, turning her head towards him. Placing a firm, loving kiss to her lips, she smiled warmly at her husband. 

“When I was a 12 year old girl, this was just a big, impossible dream. Now that I have it, I wouldn’t trade it for anything, in any timeline.” She kissed him again, more passionately, as a bright blue light and a pop resonated from the hammock. Five pressed his forehead against his wife’s, exhaling exhaustedly.  
  
“Damnit, Dolores.”


End file.
